Raw Vegan Fudge In A Jar

This was a vamp off a frosting recipe that inspired me, I tweaked and then refrigerated and then voila - it hardened into fudge. I went with it. Happy little accident, and Bob Ross would be proud. 

It couldn't be easier.  It's low-glycemic (I used stevia), loaded with healthy coconut fats, high in antioxidants from the cacao powder (or carob if you choose to use that), and just plain delicious. Depending on whether or not you actually like the flavor of coconut manna, you can opt for 1/2 coconut mana and maybe 1/2 melted cacao butter. More chocolate flavor, less coconut. Either way. Just make it, love it, and enjoy. Honestly, I have this covered in plastic in the fridge and eat about a tablespoon at a time with some fruit and it really hits the spot when I want some chocolate. It also keeps well for about 5 or 6 days, so it's perfect in that regard, that you don't really have to think about dessert: it's already waiting for you!

1/2 cup softened coconut manna/butter (do not use coconut oil though)

       (You can also do 1/2 and 1/2 with melted cacao butter)

1/2 cup hot water

1 dropper full hazelnut stevia

1 tsp hazelnut extract

2 tablespoons cacoa powder

1/2 tsp reishi, maca, maqui, or other medicinal powder (Optional but fun)

pinch sea salt

Blend ingredients in a mini personal blender, pour into a ball jar, cover and refrigerate. After a few hours, the coconut will harden and turn into a soft fudge: hard enough to spoon up and devour! You can also change this up and add in some cinnamon, nutmeg, go crazy...make it your own. Enjoy! 

Chaga Reishi Cacao Tonic

I've been obsessed with tonics lately. Here's the thing: I need chocolate. Unapologetically. Just a little, every day. And it has to be dark, rich, and full of good stuff. So this tonic covers all the bases for me, and this chocolate delivery system cannot get any more healthy and pure. You can throw in any herbs you'd like, but take the time to read up on why they're good for you, learn from them, get to know them. This particular one contains coconut oil, sea salt, my favorite nettle tea (great for allergies in the spring!), cacao, and two medicinal mushrooms: chaga and reishi. It also contains maca for a little hormonal and adrenal support. Have fun exploring with your favorite flavors, and enjoy!

1 cup brewed nettle tea (or your favorite herbal tea)

1 tsp coconut oil

2 small pinches sea salt

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

1/2 tsp each chaga and reishi powders

1 tsp maca

a few drops english toffee (or original) stevia, for your taste

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Taste for sweetness and add in more stevia if you need it, and pour in your favorite mug. Did I mention this actually makes a great drink for the morning? Get your tonic in! Or it also fits in nicely when you need a little boost around 3:00 pm. Enjoy! 

Hemp Peppermint Patty Smoothie

I'm pretty obsessed with chocolate (good chocolate, like cacao powder) and mint together. Especially for summer, when the garden is growing up beautiful stalks of spearmint and peppermint (you choose), and you pine for something cooling and refreshing, this hits the spot. Plus it has the secret added benefit of anti-inflammatory (and protein rich) hemp seeds, kale greens, and antioxidant-rich blueberries. It's easy and absolutely delicious. 

3 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds

10 oz water (around 1.5 cups)

3 heaping tsp raw cacao powder

One large handful kale

1/2 cup mint

1 and a half frozen bananas

1/2 cup blueberries

In a high-speed blender with a tamper (preferably), blend hemp and water to create "hemp milk". To this mixture, add in the remaining ingredients, blend well and serve with cacao nibs, unsweetened shredded coconut and pumpkin seeds. This is enough for one with leftovers throughout the day, or two pretty hefty servings. 

Raw Carob Raspberry Brownies

Let's just be clear, there needs to be dessert in the house or I get cranky. Actually....scratch that. There needs to be CHOCOLATE in the house or I get cranky. But with insulin resistance (or on the mend from it!) there's not much dessert I can have....or so you'd think.

Lucky for you, I wrote a whole ebook (available here) on sweets that are low-glycemic with barely a drop of sugar in them (I can't say completely sugar free since I do use raspberries...but other than that, no dates, maple syrup, honey, sugar, raisins, none of that!) 

I've enjoyed raw brownies made with dates for a long time, topped with chocolate ganache (made with maple syrup) and raspberries...but I wanted to try something even better. Something you can eat without guilt!

Enter....The raw carob brownies...of your dreams. 

And yes, while carob doesn't necessarily make everyone's head turn or toes curl, this is actually a glorious marriage of dark beautiful chocolatey goodness. A blend you'd never suspect, but one that works perfectly.

Brownies:

3 cups walnuts

1/2 cup cacao powder

1 scoop sunwarrior protein powder, chocolate (optional)

pinch salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 dropper full of hazelnut or english toffee stevia

scant 1/4 cup water (or herbal coffee if you feel adventurous)

2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

Pour the coconut evenly on the bottom of an 8x8 brownie pan. Set aside.

Pulse walnuts in a food processor until they resemble rice. Add in the other ingredients and process until mixture starts to crumble into even smaller bits. As machine is running, start to pour in the water little by little (you may not need all of it) until mixture starts to stick when pressed together between your fingers. Taste for sweetness and adjust with stevia. Pour this mixture in the brownie pan and press down to form a smooth surface. 

Ganache: 

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup cacao butter, melted

pinch salt

1/2 cup carob powder

2 dropper fulls hazelnut or english toffee stevia

Decorate: freeze dried raspberries and 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut 

Blend ingredients together in a high performance blender until smooth. You might add a few tablespoons of water if you need to get it running, but try not to if at all possible (it sort of separates)..... The ganache might look lumpy...that's ok. It's not going to be super smooth and that's actually a desired effect (more surface area means you get taste all of that ganache goodness!)

Pour ganache over brownies, and decorate with freeze dried raspberries and the remaining coconut. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut one out and enjoy it...eventually you'll want to tear them out of the pan like an animal, which is ok too (see the photos I enclosed). 

Moringa Green Apple Smoothie Bowl

You wouldn't think all of these flavors go well together but they are like a coconut apple pie in your mouth and so so so good. I've offered this more as a template than as a stress test: if you can't find these superfoods, do not fret. Use what you have on hand! Spinach instead of kale, skip the tea and make your own chammomile or even mint! Get creative. If you don't know about sunwarrior, I prefer this protein powder since it's really clean and lean and is based on raw, sprouted brown rice protein with nothing fake. You can also use the original which is just: raw, sprouted, fermented, bio-available clean brown rice protein. That's it! How can you go wrong? 

Also, I should say, I typically use 2 cups of water, but I've posted 1.5 if you're looking for more of a smoothie feel. I like it as a morning soup, though, but go with what oyu like. For me, I like to slurp it up with a big spoon!

I use only green powders here: 

1. moringa (this is a beautiful new superfood on the market that is touted to be pretty much everything for eveyrone - I don't know if that's true but I've looked into it and it has great fiber, chlorophyll, protein and fats and even the stem, leaves and pods are used in many applications). 

2. matcha (which is essentiall green tea powder, a metabolism booster, but I go easy on the stuff especially if you are sensitive to caffeine)

3. spirulina (a seaweed which is a great detoxifier, great in protein, but the taste can be quite a challenge and aquired taste, so I feel that 1 tsp is just the right amount to sneak it in)

IF you have none of the above, feel free to just use 3 tsp of your favorite green powder (green vibrance is one of my favorites). 

This smoothie is packed with protein, fiber, chlorophyl, is low-glycemic and a great way to start the day. Dig in! Happy St. Patrick's by the way, and eat your greens!

1.5 cups water, (optional: brewed wtih "Get Burning" tea, cooled - this gives it a nice apple pie flavor) or brew your own tea of choice, then cool it.

1 tsp each: moringa, matcha, spirulina

1 handful kale

1 cap of Sunwarrior Liquid Light (optional)

1 scoop Sunwarrior Classic Vanilla Protein

To garnish: coconut, cacao nibs and green apple

Blend the first 5 ingredients together, taste for sweetness and perhaps add a few stevia drops if not sweet enough. Pour into bowl and garnish with chopped green apple, unsweetened coconut and cacao nibs. 

Cinnamon Cacao Tonic

Tonics are quite the hit these days, especially in the world of raw foods ~ the primary reason for this is that raw foods are very cooling, and well, sometimes we need a balance in warmth and cool. Tonics are perfect for this since you can add herbs that support immunity, support detox, give you some serious energy, heat up the system (like cayenne adn cinnamon) and offer a sweet delight in the summer that you can feel confident is good for you.

The basic template for tonics are:

some kind of liquid or tea, 

superfoods and superherbs, 

a good fat,

and flavorings of your choice. 

You can add in whatever flavors you'd like - lemon ginger, maca and cinnamon (like ours), chocolate and cayenne, caramel vanilla, the ideas are as endless as your taste buds. But definitely MAKE them, and make them YOURS. While many people sip on starbucks and donuts in our afternoon slump (which by the way, is your body screaming for nutrition and support, not sugar), I'm sipping my cold or hot tonic (dependin on the season), knowing I'm getting what my body needs. Oh, and it's gorgeous to look at and wicked delicious, mind you. 

Again, get your type-A personality out of this one, since you can't go wrong...have fun, enjoy it, and be dazzled by your new favorite tonic beverage! But first, here are a few tips:

1. brew your tea: gynostemma, nettle, even peppermint, chammomile or straight almond milk could work too

2. add in medicinals and herbs: chaga, gynostemma, reishi, maca, etc.

3. add in your good fats: coconut meat, coconut butter or oil, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, etc.

4. add in your flavors: here we have cacao, cardamom, cinnamon, and english toffee

5. sweeten to taste: I'm always going for low-glycemic (since you don't want to slump again after drinking this) so my choice is stevia, but you can go with raisins, maybe a date or two. But stevia seems to be the hit with me, so aim for that. 

Cinnamon Cacao Tonic:

4 cups boiling water, brewed with 1 tea bag of gymnostemma tea ~ let cool (you'll only need 2 cups of this)

1.5 dropper fulls of liquid english toffee stevia

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp black maca (or regular is good)

pinch cardamom powder

1 tablespoon cacao powder

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

pinch salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil or coconut butter

1/4 cup walnuts

drizzle of almond milk (optional)

ice (optional)

Combine everything except the almond milk in a blender until smooth. This is a super generous portion, so maybe share it with someone you love :) Drizzle in some almond milk at the end and enjoy! ps. you can use any tea, but one bag of gymonstemma tea uses 4 cups of water. I save the remaining two cups and use it for tomorrow's batch.